Expanding public sector performance measurement and management research with actor-centred approaches in new institutionalism

Dados Bibliográficos

ID20201618
AutoresBernard Leca (École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales), Aziza Laguecir (0000-0002-6251-5806, Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord)
Ano2023
Volume35
Fascículo5
Páginas608-620
Data de publicação2023-11-20
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Public Budgeting Accounting & Financial Management (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1096-3367 • E-ISSN: 1945-1814
EditoraEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/jpbafm-12-2022-0180
OpenAlexW4386246317
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas70

Purpose In his 2022 paper, in the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management , Sven Modell reviews and reflects on the public sector's institutional research dealing with performance measurement and management (PMM) over the past decade. Modell suggests potential extensions of this body of research. This paper seeks to contribute to the path that Modell initiated. It offers directions in which institutional theory might contribute further to research on agentic aspects of PMM in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a rejoinder emphasizing how institutional theory could further nurture reflection on PMM research in the public sector. The authors draw upon Modell's article and ongoing research in the institutional theory field. Findings Modell insists that institutional research on PMM in the public sector should explore the constitutive effects of PMM practices while conceiving such practices as institutionally embedded phenomena. The authors seek to extend this approach by considering the role of agency in institutional processes. To do this, the authors build on recent institutional research on agency, discussing how those new conceptualizations could nurture and develop the understanding of PMM practices in the public sector. The authors further discuss implications for coupling and decoupling as sites of agency. Such literature is relevant for examining emerging themes in public-sector accounting because it allows the authors to better conceptualize the underlying mechanisms of agency in the context of public service provision characterized by institutional complexity. Originality/value This paper details several implications of the current developments in new institutional theory in examining agency in the relationship between institutions and PMM, pointing at the case of decoupling. In so doing, the authors seek to stimulate a constructive exchange between public-sector accounting and a broader institutionalist body of research and suggest ways of extending the PMM research agenda

Economics · Institutional theory · Institutionalism · Managerialism · Nature versus nurture · New public management · Originality · Political science · Positive economics · Public relations · Public sector · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Structure and agency · Accounting and Organizational Management · Management and Organizational Studies · Public Policy and Administration Research